Part-Time vs. Full-Time Teachers

[YouKnowWho]

the majority of the kids don't practice at home,

A Karate instructor taught

- sit up,
- push up,
- stretch,
- run around the room,
- ...

I asked him, "Why do you teach those stuff that students can do at home?" He said, "Most of the students don't. They just want to have a good workout here so they don't have to do anything at home."

[ngokfei]

its no different then my daughter and her gymnastics school.

For $50 a month the get to attend 1 class a week for 1hr. They rotate to 4-5 different stations in that hour.

because I want her to improve and the environment of a gym is much more encouraging then gettingher to do it at home I fork out the additional $50 so she can attend 2 classes a week and occasionally a Saturday $15 for a 1-1 with a coach/assistant.

In todays martial arts schools then are the same. I guess I was lucky when I started out back in 85 with a school that still hung onto the family like values of you learn what you can absorb then are taught more when you've earned it through practice.

If your kids into it then I'd recommend looking for another school, that's if yo haven't been suckered into a long term commitment/contract.

[Shaolinlueb]

i rather have a part time 2 day a week teacher that cares about his students and rents space at some weird place, then a full time teacher who just does it for money first.

[YouKnowWho]

- A part time teacher will teach you 108 moves Taiji form in 3 months.
- A full time teacher will teach you 108 moves Taiji form in 2 years.

I knew a guy who taught his Taiji students all the moves of the Taiji form except the last move (the ending) so his students would stay longer and paid more money.

[taai gihk yahn]

- A part time teacher will teach you 108 moves Taiji form in 3 months.
- A full time teacher will teach you 108 moves Taiji form in 2 years.

I knew a guy who taught his Taiji students all the moves of the Taiji form except the last move (the ending) so his students would stay longer and paid more money.

my teacher is "full time" and teaches the 108 in a about a year; I personally think he taught it too fast...

[peace&love]

Whether full or part time, I believe it depends on the individual instructor as far as quality of instruction goes. Some great points have already been made. I had a sifu once who I studied under for a number of years and I saw a significant difference in his teaching going from part time to full time. He was an excellent teacher and he was able to go to full time because he reached a significant number of loyal students that allowed him to make that transition. With that being said, the level of instruction declined a bit once he became full time. When we met a few times a week, there seemed to be an urgency to get things right and there was a lot of focus in the school. When the doors became open five days a week, there seemed to be an attitude of well, you did not get that, that's okay, we have tomorrow to worry about that. The urgency was gone in training, but it was replaced by an urgency of running a business with bills, insurance, demos, etc. Being a great teacher and running a business are two different things. I ran two businesses at the same time at one point in my life and even though they were both successful, I decided to move on. The hours were just too much for me and I wanted to spend time with my family.

I have also had a part time teacher who taught out of gym and the instruction level was not very high. I don't know if they were just filling space for a class schedule or what, but the teacher was just not passionate about what they were doing. Now, I've seen instructors under this same scene teaching out of a gym and they were outstanding. It's just not an exact science.

I believe MA teachers are similar to general school teachers in one sense. Those who teach and continue to learn themselves and work to obtain knew knowledge to better themselves as teachers are successful. Those who simply stay stagnant in their current knowledge and do not try to learn anything knew and grow, have students who do not grow as well.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Pros and cons go with both.
You just have to find the one that teaches you what you wanna learn.

[David Jamieson]

Pros and cons go with both.
You just have to find the one that teaches you what you wanna learn.

that's a chicken/egg thing.

imagine, grade one elementary school.

teacher: "what would you like to learn billy?"

billy: "duuuhhhhhhh, i don't know, how about if i endlessly reject what you have until i see something easy i can do quickly and without much effort?"

lol.

[sanjuro_ronin]

that's a chicken/egg thing.

imagine, grade one elementary school.

teacher: "what would you like to learn billy?"

billy: "duuuhhhhhhh, i don't know, how about if i endlessly reject what you have until i see something easy i can do quickly and without much effort?"

lol.

If you are pursing MA and you don't KNOW why, then NO teacher will be able to help you.
Best to take up needle point or cooking class or even Pilates.

[yu shan]

Nice post Peace&Love. I continually pursue knowledge from my Shifu to grow and and share with my students. I`m not selfish with these treasures and love to pass on the knowledge. I tell folks, I am still a student learning. I am part-time, I provide 3 X 1.5 hour classes per week, with an additional extra gathering in Dragon Park on Saturday afternoon and a Sunday morning freebie near my house. These two extra classes in the park & basketball court are not really a structured class, sort of a fine tuning with emphasis on weapons training. I have always done the kung fu club thing, it works great for me. I have my day time job that pays the bills (Thank God I have a job) and the kung fu gig provides extra money for my family and helps me pursue training with my teacher. I have a nice central location in the city, Baptist Hospital Wellness Center, with a low overhead. No stress!

[BoulderDawg]

I'll agree that I don't think whether or not someone devotes their entire life to MA 24 hours a day determined if they are a good teacher.

I would rather have a teacher who had varied interest and activities. We have a few students/teachers at our school who live and breathe it 24 hours a days....not good in my opinion.

[dc_jowga]

full time vs part time... blah. why not look at the quality of the teacher and his students?

chiu chi ling is a full time teacher. is he a sell out?

yip man was a full time teacher. was he a sell out?

YC wong is a full time teacher. is he a sell out?

i dont think so. probably the best thing is to observe the school... if they have karate belts and tight karate gi's and "KUNG FU" on the wall, look the other way. if they have kids teaching the class, testing fees, master/black belt club (even in a part time teacher's school), walk away.

i think some people only want to study in the woods or in a cave somewhere with an 80 year old monk, or they think they are getting ripped off. there's other philosophy to teaching than the shopping center guys, and different than the kung fu movie bunch too. sometimes, you pay more money because the teacher is WORTH it. sometimes, you're getting classes for $50 a month because the teacher is not.

sell out vs authentic teacher does not always = our stereotypes. investigate, dig deep, and try it out.... then make a decision.

[Taryn P.]

Yes, that may be true, I don't know. But the majority of the kids don't practice at home, and still don't know the few forms that were taught months before. Much of the class is spent showing those kids the same things over and over again. It's just that my daughter, only 8, and two other kids that are committed and practice at thome, are becoming a little frustrated at the pace. I guess they are just paying their dues - I don't know.

If it were my kid, I'd talk to the teacher about my concerns and see if some kind of arrangement could be made to challenge her a bit more.

Sure, those of us adults who have been doing this for a while can appreciate the value of practcing your first form again for the thousandth time and get more out of it, but an eight year old may get bored if she doesn't feel challenged enough, and lose interest altogether- just like the smartest kids in school who aren't being challenged enough.

If she likes it, and is disciplined about practicing at home, it would be a shame to let her get bored and discouraged and wind up quitting. Definitely figure something out for her.

[wetwonder]

If it were my kid, I'd talk to the teacher about my concerns and see if some kind of arrangement could be made to challenge her a bit more.

Sure, those of us adults who have been doing this for a while can appreciate the value of practcing your first form again for the thousandth time and get more out of it, but an eight year old may get bored if she doesn't feel challenged enough, and lose interest altogether- just like the smartest kids in school who aren't being challenged enough.

If she likes it, and is disciplined about practicing at home, it would be a shame to let her get bored and discouraged and wind up quitting. Definitely figure something out for her.

Taryn,
You are obviously insightful, and have excellent taste. We have done just as you've suggested, and our daughter was retested. The master was very surprised at how far she'd progressed and she jumped a belt on merit alone. Which made sense, b/c she new as much and was accomplished as the kids in the next higher level class.

[dimethylsea]

Alot of full time teachers might have the facilities, space and equipment that is closer to ideal.

Part time teachers might have smaller classes, more individual attention, and only keep people around they like and work well with.

Full time teachers usually have to teach "less than ideal" students such as children (personal bias of mine!) and people who just want to pay and hang out twice a month.


Part timer teachers are making their living some other way, so they may not be practicing as hard as the full timers in terms of competition training or their personal practice.

I've managed to figure out a way to have a nice school (in terms of the physical space and equipment) while still teaching part time. The only down side is I don't make much off it financially. But it's tons of fun!